The Rebellion
by TheSaiyanDemonPrince
Summary: Set in an alternate timeline where Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz remained working under Freeza for much longer. A look at what may have happened if the remaining Saiyans had rebelled against the tyrant to defend the honour of the Saiyan race.
1. Chapter 1

**The Rebellion**

Chapter I: _Catch 22_

"You're becoming a burden."

Frieza's words were cold and indifferent. The lizard's eyes flickered as his tail slithered around the side of his hover-throne like some enormous serpent. The three remaining members of the Saiyan race; Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz were kneeling down in front of Frieza, who had forced them into his employ after eradicating their home planet, Vegeta, and all of its inhabitants. Frieza had decided to keep the three alive as they were relatively easy to control, and, with the potential exception of the Prince himself, they would be no problem for one of Frieza's more powerful henchmen to annihilate if they ever decided to do something foolish like rebel. But still, they were becoming a nuisance. The vast majority of Frieza's army were grunts; weak, stupid and loyal. The Saiyans knew this and were playing power games behind Frieza's back; muscling the grunts into being more terrified of them than they were of the Tyrant himself. Those fools! At this rate it would only be a matter of time before Frieza would have to deal with a mass rebellion. But that wasn't going to happen; he was going to put those monkeys in their place.

"What do you mean we're becoming a burden?" queried Prince Vegeta innocently.

"You honestly think I'm not aware of your little charades? Nothing goes by without my notice in this place, Vegeta. Nothing."

"I have no Idea what you're talking about. Do you know what this about, Nappa?" Vegeta was trying to hide a smirk.

"No, Vegeta."

"What about you, Raditz?"

"Not a clue!"

"Don't take Lord Frieza for a fool you filthy Saiyan, or I can guarantee it will be the last thing you ever do!" roared Dodoria, losing his temper.

"Calm down, Dodoria, they're not worth it," assured Frieza, evil ideas beginning to form in his twisted mind.

"Listen to me, you three. As your ruler, I wish for you to remain loyal to me, and for that to happen, obviously you will need something in return for the often...shall we say...uninteresting tasks I assign to you."

The Saiyans stared at him intently, probably trying to determine if they were about to be the butt of some cruel joke.

"What I am trying to say is, you deserve appreciation for what you do. Am I right?"

They said nothing, but Vegeta couldn't resist sniggering at Frieza's obviously false sentimentality.

"Don't go expecting heartfelt letters or anything, but how would you feel about more purging missions to keep you satisfied?"

Nappa and Raditz both twitched with suppressed excitement, But Vegeta's eyes simply narrowed as he continued to stare into Frieza's.

"We'll need to discuss it," said Vegeta, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, I don't see what there could possibly be to discuss, but I want you back here before the end of the day with your decision."

Vegeta bowed and got up to leave, signalling for the other two to follow him

"Why didn't we just agree on the spot?" asked Raditz, as the three Saiyans made their way down a dark corridor that smelt of burnt flesh.

"Yeah, more purging missions! That sounds great!"

"Nappa, don't get too ahead of yourself, Frieza definitely has an ulterior motive," warned Vegeta.

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you see? As long as we're servants under Frieza, we have no future. He's going to keep using us until our Saiyan genes make us too powerful to control and then what? He'll dispose of us."

"Yeah, but the purg..."

"The purging missions are a way to speed up the process. We'll need to heal after every mission and we'll rapidly get more powerful."

"Well, isn't that a good thing?" asked Raditz.

"Haven't you listened to anything I've been saying, you fool!? He's going to kill us before we're powerful enough to rebel!"

"So why doesn't he just destroy us right now?"

"Because he wants to milk us for all we're worth. After all, we are the best at what we do."

Frieza had his head rested relaxedly on one hand, and was playfully swirling a glass of red wine around with the other. There was a smirk on his face that was broken the moment Zarbon decided to speak up;

"Lord Frieza, if you don't mind my asking, why is it that the Saiyans are being rewarded with extra purging missions?"

"Not 'rewarded', Zarbon. Quite the opposite, in fact. There is no doubt in my mind that Vegeta will see through the first layer of my plan. He has always been very clever for a monkey, not that that's saying much."

"First layer of your plan?"

"He'll come to the conclusion that I'm only giving them more strenuous missions to shorten their time of use, but he's wrong."

"Well...then, why are you doing it?"

"Zarbon, how long have you worked under me?"

"Well, Lord Frieza, it's been..."

"A very long time. And in that time, how many bad decisions have you seen me make?"

"None, my lord."

"Exactly. Now Dodoria..." said Frieza, turning to his larger subordinate;

"...I know how much you hate the Saiyans, so I have arranged a very satisfying mission for you."

Dodoria grinned and clenched his fists.

"The two weaker Saiyans are heading to Frieza Planet #213 very soon to pick up the latest model scouters from one of the laboratories. I want you follow them there and ambush them. You are NOT to kill them, Dodoria, is that understood?"

"Yes my lord."

"Make them beg for mercy. Once you have broken nearly every bone in their bodies I want you to bring them back here so that the useless scum who allowed themselves to be bullied by the Saiyans can be reminded of who the boss is."

"Heh heh, I've waited for this for a long time, Lord Frieza, and I won't let you down."

"Of course you won't."

Dodoria lumbered over to the door, stretching his arm muscles.

"Oh, and Dodoria, one more thing."

"What's that, my lord?"

"Don't forget to bring back the scouters."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Rebellion**

Chapter II: _The Plan_

The Saiyans always felt relaxed in their sleeping quarters, as it was the one place on Frieza's most recently conquered and colonised planet (which the tyrant had creatively named "Frieza Planet #236") that they could talk amongst themselves and express their opinions freely without fear of being overheard. There was only one bed, and Vegeta, being the prince, had claimed the top bunk. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, deep in thought, while Nappa noisily ate the remains of one of the planet's natives that had been defrosted for him, on the bunk below. Raditz slept on the floor, the cold ground being perfectly adequate for a Saiyan who had spent the majority of his life living in harsh conditions.

"Shut up, Nappa, you pig! It isn't necessary to snort like that when you eat, you know?" Raditz yelled, inadvertently spitting saliva at the much larger Saiyan in the process.

"Wot your mouf, you dirdy wo-cwass scub!" Nappa bellowed back, still chomping on a leg.

"SILENCE YOU FOOLS! I-am-trying-to-THINK!" roared Vegeta, and the two weaker Saiyans went quiet immediately.

"Now, I've considered all the possibilities in my mind, and if we're going to accept these purging assignments, then there isn't much we can do right now, other than buy some time. We'll need to fight less recklessly, so that we don't end up having to use the healing tanks after every mission."

"That's no fun," said Raditz.

"Exactly, which is why I think we should consider the alternative."

"There's an alternative?" asked Nappa, confused.

"Yes. I say we rebel."

"What! B-b-but Vegeta, we don't stand a chance against Frieza!"

"We're not going to attack Frieza, idiot...at least...not yet."

"Then what?"

"Well, you know how I've been having the two of you muscle around Frieza's grunts for the past few months behind his back?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Think about it, we've already began to spread our influence over the easily-manipulated, and once I'm strong enough to take out the blindly-loyals, there's nothing stopping us from launching a large-scale assault on that genocidal freak!"

"Yeah! Frieza is going down!"

"However, for this plan to work, you two NEED to stay alive, is that understood?"

"You don't need to worry about us, Vegeta, we won't do anything stupid."

"That's good to know. Now we-", before the Prince could finish his sentence, the door slid open, and Cui stepped through. Vegeta sat upright instantly and balled his fist.

"Don't worry, you fool, I'm not here for a fight. I'm just passing on a message from Lord Frieza. Those two monkeys of yours are to travel to Frieza Planet #213 and pick up a shipment of scouters."

"Hey! Who are you calling a monkey?" Nappa stood up.

"I thought it was pretty obvious. Do you need a diagram?"

The giant tensed with anger.

"Calm down Nappa," Vegeta said firmly, before continuing;

"What's Frieza's deal? He has plenty of mindless henchmen that he could send to do a monotonous task like that."

"I'll go tell him you said that, shall I?" Cui smirked.

"Fine, we'll play this little game for now, but don't think that it will last long. Soon there will be some drastic changes, do you hear me?"

"You're a fool, Vegeta, you really are," Cui chuckled, before leaving the room.

"Why would Frieza do this to us now? Right after offering us more purging missions?" asked Nappa, scratching his head.

"It's obvious that he's trying to coax us into accepting his offer by showing us how boring the alternative is," said Raditz confidently.

"No, that's what he wants us to think. He's sending you to that particular planet because something is going to happen there. Something that he doesn't want me to be a part of. What he doesn't know, however, is that I have no intention of playing by his rules. Nappa, Raditz; go to the shipping station and prepare your pods for launch. Once you're in space, I want you to send a signal to my scouter."

"What are planning to do?"

"I can't tell you here."

"What? Why not?"

"If Frieza is doing what I think he's doing, then this room has, in fact, been under audio surveillance this entire time."

"You mean...Frieza knows what we are planning?"

"No, our most recent conversation would not have been reported to him yet. We still have time, but we have to act fast. I have a feeling that you will be attacked when you arrive at the destination. Now remember, Frieza doesn't know how strong you are at full power. I'm confident that you will be able to take care of whoever he sends."

"You think he's sent some goons to ambush us when we get there?"

"Yes, it looks that way, but remember, you are Saiyans. Show no mercy!"

The shipping station covered over a third of the surface of the planet. Ships ranging from single pods to entire fleets were constantly entering and exiting the atmosphere, and enough space to accommodate for thousands upon thousands of vessels was necessary to keep things flowing. On top of that, ship-repair yards and factories for the manufacturing of parts were a requirement for every major shipping station within the Planet Trade Corporation. Nappa and Raditz were headed to launch pad 16E, which was fairly close to the main gates. When they arrived, an Ardasian air-traffic warden showed them to their pods, and they punched in the coordinates to prepare for departure. The launch pad rose up and tilted backwards, aiming the pods on an upward angle, as if to fire them like a canon.

Raditz was patiently waiting when Nappa's voice came over the pods' intercom.

"What do you think Vegeta's planning to do once we send him the signal?"

"Who knows? Maybe he intends to blow Frieza sky-high and wants to make sure we're out of the blast radius first."

"Heh, I don't think he cares about us THAT much, and besides, Frieza's too powerful."

"I know. It was just wishful-thinking."

There was a bright flash and a loud explosion noise as the pods were launched into the air. They were in space within seconds. Nappa pressed a button on his scouter and sent the signal.

"And now we wait."

Dodoria had waited for the Saiyan pods to leave the atmosphere before emerging from the shadows. He made his way over to where the air-traffic warden was inspecting his space pod, which Frieza had had custom built to accommodate for Dodoria's extreme girth.

"I've never launched a pod of this size, but it shouldn't cause any-" The Ardasian was cut off by Dodoria.

"It's fine! Prepare me for launch."

"Yes sir!"

The pink alien licked his lips as he lowered himself into the seat.

"_It's going to be a fun day,_" he thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Rebellion**

Chapter III: _Ambush_

Frieza Planet #213 was a major location for the import and export of materials, parts and devices. It was where Frieza's suppliers shipped all of the latest model scouters, blasters and amour to. After basic inspection, scouter packs were transported to a laboratory where they were configured to display Standard Intergalactic Numerals (S.I.N), so that all of the soldiers in Frieza's employ would be able read them. The scouters were vital, and Frieza always sent capable personal to retrieve and deliver them back to him. Never though, did Professor Vahleen expect to see two rough-looking Saiyans assigned to such a task.

"Look, old man, we don't have time to hang around! Frieza gave us specific orders to pick up these scouters, and we're kind of in a rush, understood!" Nappa was beginning to lose his patience.

"I find it very hard to believe that Lord Frieza would entrust two brutes like you with such an important delivery. And anyway, what could you possibly be in a rush for?"

"We're expecting some...uh...company, so hurry up!" Raditz chose his words carefully.

"Fine, but you are to take full responsibility for any damage to the scouters between now and the time that they are delivered to Frieza," said Vahleen, refusing to be intimidated.

"Ok ok, just give them here, quickly!" said Nappa, outstretching his arm.

The Tahlvian scientist reluctantly handed them over. Nappa tucked the case underneath his tail, which was wrapped around his waist. The two Saiyans turned and paced out of the laboratory into the open air, where they found themselves in a vast expanse of red sky and purple desert.

"Uhh, so do you remember how far away we landed?" asked Nappa.

"About three miles in...that direction," said Raditz, pointing into the distance.

"Yeah, you're right, 'cause we wanted to make sure that whoever was going to attack us wouldn't be able to sneak up on us."

"Exactly, now I don't think we should fly. There's a still a chance of a fight, so I think we should save the energy."

"Agreed. Let's go."

The two began to stride purposefully in the direction that Raditz had decided on. They began to talk about Frieza, their lives, and even joked about different ways of repopulating the Saiyan race. Suddenly, Raditz stopped walking. His nose began to twitch and sniff.

"Nappa, something smells ba-", a massive fist slammed into the side of his head, crushing his scouter and sending him flying into a nearby cliff face.

Before Nappa could react, Dodoria delivered a powerful elbow strike to the large Saiyan's face that sent him tumbling along the ground.

"You sneaky monkeys! I've been looking everywhere for you! Who tipped you off? No matter, I get to have fun now, anyway! HAHAHA!"

Nappa pulled himself to his feet, spat out a tooth and wiped the blood away from his mouth.

"So Frieza sent one of his top dogs, huh? I didn't think he was that scared of us."

"Scared? Don't make me laugh. You Saiyan's are like cockroaches, you have to hit 'em with the hard stuff if you want 'em to stay down!"

"I've gotten much stronger since last time, Dodoria. You're the one who's about to be squashed like a roach!"

Nappa glanced over to the pile of rubble and realised that Raditz was down for the count. Dodoria's scouter started to beep.

"4000 eh? Pathetic, I eat punks like you for breakfast."

Without warning, Dodoria disappeared and reappeared in front of Nappa, before delivering a powerful head-butt that toppled the mighty Saiyan. The huge, pink alien picked him up by the front of his armour and began to pummel him with an onslaught of crushing blows to the abdomen, causing him to spit up blood and yell in pain. Dodoria released the giant and delivered a final uppercut to the jaw, knocking him out cold. Before Dodoria had time to make another remark, a ki-blast bounced off the back of his armour. He turned around to see Raditz on one knee, blood pouring down the side of his face and his palm outstretched.

"Oh so you're not done, after all? That's good, I hate being disappointed."

Dodoria charged at the low-class Saiyan, his fists clenched. Suddenly, a foot slammed into his back, sending him face-first into the ground.

"You always were head-over-heels in love with Frieza. He'll be glad that you've finally decided to take things literally!" Said Vegeta confidently, as he lowered himself to the ground.

"V-Vegeta..." said Raditz, before collapsing.

"Hang in there, Raditz; I'll get you to a healing tank as soon as I've dealt with the giant, spiky marshmallow."

Dodoria began to chuckle softly, getting louder as he pulled himself up off the ground.

"You're nothing to me, Vegeta. You never have been and you never will be!"

"You're wrong, you overgrown freak!"

Vegeta took up a fighting stance and began to power up. The ground started to shake and small chunks of rock flew into the air.

"Witness the true power of the Saiyan race!"

His aura intensified as Dodoria took another reading from his scouter.

"What? 18,000! How did you get so strong? Oh well, it doesn't matter. It still isn't enough!"

"That's what you think!"

The time for talk was over, Vegeta charged at his opponent, unleashing a devastating combo. A knee to the gut followed by a side-kick to the head that Dodoria managed to block, a barrage of blows to the face, and finally a straight-right that was caught and stopped halfway by the pink alien's powerful grip. Dodoria smiled as he grabbed the Prince's throat with the other hand and slammed him into the ground, smashing through layers of hard rock. After taking a moment to recover, Vegeta twisted Dodoria's arm and flipped onto his back, giving the Prince a window of opportunity to fly out of the crater. Once high enough, he placed both hands to the side and began to charge an attack. Dodoria was on his feet. He noticed what Vegeta was planning and fired a powerful mouth beam directly at him.

"GAAAAHH" yelled Vegeta, as he fired his own blast in response.

The two beams collided and created a massive shockwave. The scales were tipped in Vegeta's favour as Dodoria's own attack was slowly pushed back towards him. The Prince's confidence began to skyrocket as he saw that he was overpowering his opponent.

"Oh come on, Dodoria! Don't tell me that that's all you've got!"

But he wasn't straining at all and Vegeta immediately realised that something was wrong. Dodoria's eyes widened and he exploded with power. Vegeta's blast was overwhelmed and he was engulfed by the fat alien's powerful beam.

"Heh, you're nothing Vegeta!" said Dodoria triumphantly as the Prince's smoking body plummeted to the ground. He strode confidently over to retrieve his prey. He bent down to pick up the seemingly unconscious Vegeta, but the Prince opened his eyes and fired a two-fingered beam at Dodoria's face, blinding him.

"DAMN YOU FILTHY SAIYAN!" he screamed as he stumbled backwards, before a recovered Nappa delivered a two-armed clubbing blow that sent him tumbling along the ground.

"Help me up!" yelled Vegeta, and Nappa grabbed his hand and yanked him off the ground.

"Quickly, go and get Raditz! We need to get out of here before that fat bastard recovers! I can't keep fighting!"

"Right!" said Nappa, as he raced over to Raditz and threw him over his shoulder. Dodoria was still swearing and stumbling around, as the Saiyans blasted off back towards civilisation.

"Why are we heading this way, Vegeta?"

"Because it will take too long to find your pods and I took the initiative to bring something more size-appropriate."

"But why would Frieza authorise that?"

"He didn't. It's a long story. I'll tell you when we have more time."

They touched down near the ship that Vegeta had come in; a model built for a crew of up to five.

"Nappa, put Raditz one of the beds in the back!" said Vegeta as he typed in coordinates.

"The nearest habitable planet that doesn't belong to Frieza is...there!"

The ship took off surprisingly quickly for its size, causing the heavily wounded Vegeta to just about lose his balance. Within moments, they were in space, safely away from Dodoria. Nappa hobbled in from the back room, bruised all over and holding his wounded abdomen.

"That was intense. I really thought I was done for. Didn't expect you to show up, Vegeta, that's for sure."

"Well, my plan all along was to follow the two of you. I bribed that air-traffic warden to let me use this ship without Frieza's authorisation."

"And he took the bribe?"

"He's an Ardasian. They're one of the most corrupt races in the universe."

They both chuckled.

"So anyway, he told me that Frieza sent Dodoria after you, and I wasted no time. I kept track of Dodoria for the whole journey, and when I saw him land, I made sure I touched down a good mile or two away, so that he wouldn't get suspicious. He was waiting for you to come out of the front entrance of the lab but luckily you went out the back way. After a while, he got extremely frustrated and flew up into the air to scan the planet for your power signals. When he found them, he shot off into the distance and, unbeknownst to him, I took chase. The rest is history."

"You sure put up a hell of a fight Vegeta. I'm just glad to be alive. Well, I shouldn't be too surpised. I am the former general of the Saiyan army, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, save it, hot shot. Oh, by the way, how's Raditz doing?"

"He took a pretty devastating blow to the side of the head. It's impressive that he's still alive actually, being as weak as he is."

"Well, that's good. That means he'll be a lot stronger when he heals."

"Yeah, so where are we headed anyway?"

"Well, I wasn't too picky about it. Some planet called Earth."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Rebellion**

Chapter IV: _Death_

Even the fastest of the ships belonging to the Planet Trade Corporation would take hours to get to a nearby planet, and the rusty old clunker that Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz were travelling in was so slow that the Saiyans were confident they could _fly_ faster were they able to survive in the vacuum of space.

"This is torture. It'll take days to get to that damn planet at this rate," moaned Nappa, his wounds loosely bandaged up.

"Quit your damn whining! We've only been travelling for a few hours, and your non-stop complaining is making this entire ordeal far more unpleasant than it needs to be!" snapped Vegeta, while at the same time dabbing ointment from the ship's medical kit on his burns.

"How could I be making this any worse than it already is? We have no idea what this "Earth" place is

gonna be like, or even if the people there will be friendly to us or not," said Nappa, before realising that he had misspoken.

"Well, you moron, if they're hostile, we'll blast them into smithereens and use their medical facilities anyway, it's pretty simple."

"But what if they don't HAVE anything that can heal us?"

"Then we move on to another planet, genius."

"Yeah...I guess you're right. Hey, isn't Earth where Raditz' brother was sent to as a baby? I remember hearing about it not too long before Frieza destroyed our planet. Bardock was furious that Frieza had decided to separate him from his newborn son; or something along those lines. "

"Hmmm, yes I remember now. Raditz said he was going to go there and find Kakarot about five or six years back, but decided against it when we reminded him that there was more enjoyment to be had with all the purging assignments we were being given back then. It will be interesting to see how Kakarot went with his mission. Half of me hopes that he succeeded, but I don't really want to turn up to a dead wasteland. We need to get healed more than anything else at the moment."

"Yeah, you got a point there. Oh hey, did you check on Raditz?"

"He's still out. He'll come to in a while. We should try to get some sleep. We've still got a long time before we arrive."

After sitting in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the Saiyans dozed off, and were only awakened hours later when Raditz stumbled into the room.

"Huh? What was that?" Nappa sat up in surprise at the sudden noise.

"Oh, it's only Rad-" Vegeta stopped himself mid-sentence after seeing the state that Raditz was in.

The bandage around the side of his head had slipped down to reveal a bleeding eye socket and a half-sagging mouth, and the entire left side of his body hung limp as it was dragged along the ground.

"H-help..." he whispered, before blood began to pour out of his left ear and he collapsed to the ground.

"RADITZ!" yelled Vegeta, as he dropped to the ground to cradle the Saiyan's head.

"I-is he alright, Vegeta?" asked a startled Nappa.

The Prince closed his eyes and responded quietly; "No, Nappa, he's dead."

The giant said nothing as he continued to stare at Raditz' lifeless body. Vegeta let go of his fallen comrade and punched the ground in anger.

"DAMN IT! We can't afford to lose another Saiyan! We've become far too much of a rarity already!"

"H-how did he die? Saiyans d-die in battle, not like th-that," said a still-shocked Nappa, his eyes unfocused.

"That blow he took from Dodoria must have been much harder than we thought, so much so that it caused him severe brain damage."

"W-we didn't even notice that he was dying."

Vegeta stood up and folded his arms, turning away from the dead Saiyan.

"Whatever, Nappa. We both know that this only proves one thing. Raditz was far too fragile to fight by our side. A warrior whom fate deals a death as dishonourable as this does not deserve to be respected."

"I...I guess you're right, Vegeta."

"We'll need to make a stop at one of these asteroids to dispose of Raditz. I don't want his body stinking up the ship."

For a moment, Nappa thought he saw something glisten under Vegeta's eye, but he couldn't be sure, and he doubted the Prince would ever show such weakness.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry about how short the chapter is, I'm very busy at the moment and I will only be able to update on weekends.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Rebellion**

Chapter V: _Earth_

Twelve years had passed since the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Piccolo was still his old sinister self, but he hadn't caused any trouble since the time he had attacked West City and levelled half of it with a powerful energy attack, killing thousands of people. He was stopped by the combined forces of Goku and Tienshinhan. Despite many protests from his friends, Korin and even Kami, Goku refused to end Piccolo's life time and time again when given the opportunity. The demon lived in the shadows, and it was only when everyone was convinced that he had renounced his evil ways and opted for a life of quiet solitude, that he struck again, terrorising Goku and everyone that the hero cared about.

On this particular day, more than a year had gone by since the terrifying incident in West City, and peace was once again one of many things that was thriving with abundance. Goku and Gohan were doing some light training, working off the massive breakfast that they had just downed in record time. Gohan, who was now eleven years old, was enjoying this rare occasion in which Chi-chi had let him take a break from his studies and spend some time with his father.

"Nice one, son, you nearly got me that time!" said Goku, who was hovering backwards and deflecting all of Gohan's punches and kicks. After a while, Goku found an opening and delivered an upper-cutting jab to the boy's stomach, before darting back a few metres to give his son a chance to recover.

"Darn it, Dad, you're way too fast for me!" said Gohan, holding his abdomen as he pulled himself off the ground.

"Nonsense, Gohan, you're not fighting your hardest."

"What do you mean? I'm giving it my all!"

"You're not aiming your attacks towards any particular area, making it easy for me to defend myself. You're not actually trying to hit me."

"But...I...you're my Dad. I don't want to hurt you."

"You're a long way from being able to hurt me, Gohan, but if you don't at least try to, you're never going to improve."

"Okay, well if you're sure..." said Gohan, before taking up a fighting pose.

XXXXXXXX

Kami's eyes were closed. They had been so for hours. Mr Popo knew that Kami only meditated like this when something was disturbing him a great deal. Finally, the Guardian of Earth stood up slowly.

"What is the matter, Kami?" asked the fat genie, his eyes watery with concern.

"There is a terrible evil headed towards the Earth. I fear that it is far too powerful to be stopped. Fortunately, it does not seek to destroy us, but rather it is in pursuit of another great power that will arrive here very soon."

"How much time do we have?"

"We have just enough to divert its course so that it lands here at the lookout."

Kami raised his hand to the sky, a bronze glow surrounding him. His hand lit up, as his face started to strain and sweat. After a while, he lowered his arm and relaxed his muscles.

"Is it done, Kami?"

"Yes, now we wait."

Kami and Popo stared intently at the sky. Being hundreds of years old, they were used to doing nothing for long periods of time. Hours passed, and eventually a small glint appeared in the distance.

The speck grew larger, revealing itself to be a dark grey spaceship built for speed and practicality over design. It slowed its descent as it approached the lookout, before finally touching down. For a few seconds nothing happened, before the door opened, breaking the vacuum seal and lowering to the ground to double as a ramp. Two figures stepped out, the larger one carrying a third individual over his shoulder. They looked like they had been in a war, with bruises and bandages with deep red stains and damaged battle armour. The warrior that was being carried was in the worst state of all, the side of his head caked over with blood. He looked to be either dead or very close to it.

"So this is Earth, huh?" said the short one, before pressing a button on a device over his right eye.

"I'm picking up billions of tiny power signals. It seems Kakarot didn't do his job after all."

"Yeah, and looks like those two have been expecting us, Vegeta. Hey, the one on the left is an old Namekian, isn't he?"

"Yes, you're right Nappa, he is."

Kami was speechless. All his life he had wondered about his origins, and now the answer was being thrown at him so suddenly that he barely had time to comprehend it.

"I-I'm a Namekian," said Kami. It wasn't a question; he knew it was the truth, he could feel it.

"What? You didn't know?" asked Vegeta.

"I think...part of me has known it all along...anyway, that's not important. What brings you here?"

"Well, we need to heal obviously, and we were wondering if you could help us with that. Also, we have reason to believe that there may be one of us here."

"One of you?"

"A Saiyan."

Kami's eyes widened as he noticed that there was a tail around each of their waists.

"Goku..." he said quietly to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, never mind. So you said you needed to heal?" asked Kami, quickly recovering from his enormous realisation.

"Yes, will that be possible, or are we wasting our time?"

"Well, any regular medical institution on this planet would take months to heal injuries of that magnitude, but you're in luck. I happen to have healing abilities that I gained after splitting from my evil half."

"Uhh...okay. So you can help us then?"

"Yes, yes I can. But first I must ask, is _he_ dead?" Kami beckoned at Raditz.

"No, we thought he was at first, as his pulse was far too weak to be felt. But after a while we noticed that his body hadn't lost its colour and was still warm. It seemed impossible, considering the state he was in, but he is a Saiyan after all"

The Guardian walked calmly over and held his hand to Raditz' forehead, unintimidated by the other two Saiyans' glaring.

"Yes, he is indeed still alive, but he is only hanging on by a thread. Place him on the ground so that I can heal him."

Nappa reluctantly obliged, lowering Raditz to the tiled floor. Kami stood over the wounded warrior and outstretched his palms, bronze energy starting to flow from the Guardian to the fallen Saiyan. The wound on the side of his head started to heal up and the caked blood faded. Kami took a step back. Raditz' eyes opened, unfocused. He sat up and pushed himself off the ground.

"Where am I?" he asked, before turning around and noticing his two comrades.

"We're on Earth, Raditz," said Vegeta.

"Earth? That name rings a bell..."

"Your brother was sent here as a baby."

"Kakarot? But then why isn't this place a wasteland?"

"That's what we want to find out as well, as soon as the Namek here heals us."

"You can call me Kami."

"Okay 'Kami', can you do for us what you did for Raditz?"

"Of course," the Guardian made his way over to Nappa first, and then Vegeta, healing them both in seconds.

"Thanks, old man, we'll be on our way now. Oh, and uh, look after the ship for us, won't you? We'll make sure to...kill you last."

The three Saiyans blasted off into the distance, leaving Kami behind as well as a confused Mr Popo.

"Why did you heal them, Kami? They're quite clearly evil..."

"Even though they're not as evil as they make themselves out to be, I'm quite sure they would have ended our lives without a second thought if we had refused them. Besides, those three are the least of my worries. There is a far worse power on its way."

XXXXXXXX

Gohan had used up all of his energy. He'd been sparring with Goku all day and there was simply nothing left in the tank.

"I-give up," he said in between heavy breaths.

Goku smiled and offered a hand to his son, pulling him off the ground. Gohan was surprised to see that his father wasn't fatigued at all. He wasn't even out of breath.

"I'm still so much weaker than you, Dad. I'm sorry, you must be really disappointed."

"Are you kidding? You lasted way longer than I thought you would. I didn't expect you to match me. I'll be honest, you're nowhere near my level, but you're still incredibly strong, considering how little Chi-chi lets you train."

"Thanks, Dad."

"So, what do you say we call it a d-" Goku snapped his head towards the sky.

"What is it Dad?"

"Three big powers...headed straight for us."

"What? Three? So it's not Piccolo then?

"No its not. Listen to me, Gohan, you're not going to like this, but I want you to go home."

"But Da-"

"Now!"

Gohan looked at his father intently, before reluctantly blasting off. A few minutes passed, and the three Saiyans came into view, before finally touching down in front of Goku.

"What do you want?" asked Goku, a hardened look on his face.

"Yes, that's definitely Kakarot alright. He looks exactly like our father," said Raditz, his hair blowing in the wind.

Goku raised an eyebrow.

"Have we got a power reading from him?" asked Vegeta.

"I'll do it," said Nappa, activating his eyepiece. Numeric symbols began to flash on the device's screen.

"Power level 1,000. Oh well, I wouldn't expect any more from the little brother of a low-class."

Raditz sneered at the comment. Goku was visibly taken aback at being labelled his brother.

"Don't be fooled, Nappa. I have a feeling he's hiding a good deal of his power from us," said Vegeta coolly.

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" demanded Goku.

"To inform you that you are a Saiyan warrior and have you join us in our mission," replied Vegeta.

"A Saiya-what?"

"A Saiyan. You're not of this world."

"That's a lie."

"Oh please, don't tell me you haven't suspected anything."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The transformations, the tai- Wait! Where is your tail?" asked Nappa, slightly shocked.

"I had it removed a long time ago."

"Kakarot, you fool! A Saiyan's tail is the key to his true power," said Raditz angrily.

"You have me confused with someone else. My name is not 'Kakarot', and I am not an alien."

"Hang on; did you hit your head as a child?" asked Vegeta, his eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Hmmm, so that's why you haven't completed your mission."

"My mission?"

"To eradicate all life on this planet."

"That's horrible! I would never do that!"

"Disappointing...oh well, you're coming with us now. We need all the help we can get against Frieza."

"Why should I join you?"

"Because we're not giving you a choice. You're a Saiyan, Kakarot. This is your call of duty."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Goku, and _this_ is my planet! If you think I'm going to abandon my friends and family then you're wrong!"

"Family? You have offspring?" asked Raditz, his eyes widened.

"That's none of your concern!"

"Oh, but it is..." said Vegeta in an icy-cold tone.

"Is it a boy, Kakarot?"

Goku said nothing as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

"I think that's a yes."

"Good, once we've finished purging this planet for fun, you and your son can join our rebellion. What do you say?"

"Leave Earth now," said Goku, his eyes in shadow.

"Well it looks like Kakarot has made up his mind. He's not going to play ball unless we force him to. Raditz, you know what to do."

Raditz smirked confidently as he approached his younger brother. Goku clenched his fists.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Rebellion**

Chapter VI: _Brothers_

Goku stood his ground as Raditz advanced towards him threateningly.

"You know, normally I might have some reservations about torturing my little brother, but seeing as you're nothing but a tailless traitor, I think I might actually enjoy this," said Raditz, an evil smirk on his face.

"Why do you keep going on about the fact that I don't have a tail like it's the end of the world? I woke up one day and it was gone."

"Well then...it sounds to me like someone witnessed the destructive power of the Oozaru and decided to remove it without your consent."

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course you don't know. 'Oozaru' is the Saiyan word for our giant ape-like transformation."

Goku remembered the time that Gohan had seen the full moon and turned into a rampaging beast. It took everything Goku had to overpower him. After Goku came to the conclusion that Gohan's tail was the reason for his transformation, he also realised that his friends had been keeping it a secret from him his whole life. He was the one that trashed the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament grounds. He was the one that destroyed Pilaf's castle. And he was the one that...that...killed his Grandpa.

And it was all because he came from a race of blood-thirsty space pirates. Goku was furious; his entire life's worth had been pre-planned for him, with no regard for what he wanted to do with it himself; and now he was being told that he had to abandon his friends and loved ones and go back to whatever hell-hole he came from.

"_No! This is my home and I'm going to defend it or die trying!_" Goku thought to himself as he began to power up. His hair stuck up on its ends and grass and dirt was pulled from the ground. A bright blue aura surrounded him and began to intensify.

"What? His power is rising," said Nappa.

"Of course," smirked the Saiyan Prince.

All three scouters beeped.

"2,200? You know, I think he might be stronger than you, Raditz."

"Look again," said Vegeta.

"Huh, Raditz is at 3,000? I guess that blow to the head did him wonders after all," said Nappa.

Raditz chuckled.

"Not long ago, you would have had me beat with that power, brother. But unfortunately for you, I nearly died recently, and now you don't have a chance in h-" Raditz was cut off as Goku's foot smashed into his chest, sending him flying back. The long haired Saiyan quickly recovered, planting his hand firmly on the ground and flipping onto his feet. Raditz shot forwards and tried to catch Goku with a right hand, but Goku ducked the blow and delivered a powerful uppercut to his brother's jaw. Raditz stumbled backwards and Goku took advantage of the situation, lunging at the long-haired Saiyan. He was about to deliver a barrage of punches, when Raditz caught both of his hands and delivered a crushing knee to Goku's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"Good, but not good enough," Raditz chuckled, grabbing his brother roughly by the hair and lifting him off the ground, before viciously punching him in the face, causing blood to trickle down his chin. Goku screamed in agony as Raditz let go of his hair and kicked him hard in the chest, sending the younger Saiyan crunching along the ground.

"Give up, Kakarot. You may be strong, and you may have taken me by surprise, but you cannot win this fight."

Goku grasped his chest and slowly sat up off of the ground.

"You're really good. It looks like I might have to go all out."

To Raditz' confusion, he began to remove parts of his clothing. First, the blue undershirt went, making a loud crash as it hit the ground. The boots were next, and judging by the effort it took for Goku to pull them off, they were very heavy as well. Lastly, the wristbands hit the ground, making a noise that suggested they weighed at least a few pounds each. The Saiyan's scouters began to beep rapidly.

"His power just shot up to 2,700. Impressive..." said Vegeta.

Goku darted at Raditz, zigzagging as he ran to confuse his older brother. Raditz tensed and focused, waiting for Goku to strike, anticipating his movements. Suddenly, the younger Saiyan disappeared and reappeared behind the long-haired warrior, delivering a crushing kick to Raditz' neck that caused him to collapse onto one knee. As Goku prepared a follow-up attack, the older Saiyan yelled in fury and responded with a devastating elbow to his brother's groin. Goku stumbled back, unable to make a noise. Raditz capitalised on the situation, rocking Goku with a brutal combination that left him down for the count. As Goku lay helpless on the ground, Raditz rammed a knee into his stomach causing him to spew blood, and grabbed him by the throat.

"Are you going to talk now, brother? Are you going to tell me where the boy is? Or is this where we say goodbye?"

"G...go t...to hell," Goku spluttered, deliberately spitting more blood at his older brother's face.

Raditz looked at Vegeta, who nodded.

"Finish him."

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo was heading to Kami's lookout. A master of meditation, Piccolo was aware of everything that had happened, as well as everything that was going to happen if Kami didn't agree to his proposal. He had felt it when Kami was told of his origin; an origin that Piccolo shared. The Aliens were incredibly powerful, so much so that the weakest of them was dominating Goku. There was only one thing for it; he needed to reunite with Kami and become one, supremely powerful being. He could see the lookout in the distance, and began to slow. As he touched down, Mr Popo dropped his watering can in shock.

"K-Kami! He's here!"

"Do not worry, Mr Popo. I am very aware of why our visitor is here, and you can rest assured that he did not make the journey just to kill us," said the Guardian of Earth, emerging from the dark entrance to his palace.

Mr Popo nodded, a bead of sweat running down his face. Piccolo groaned.

"Cut the crap, old man. If you know why I'm here, then you must know how desperate the situation is. These Aliens are far too much for anyone on this planet to handle. Now don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about the lives of pathetic humans or anything else that lives on this wretched planet, but I will _not _have these Aliens be the dominate force in a world that is rightfully _mine _to control."

Kami sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing his posture.

"I see you're just as stubborn as ever, Piccolo. I want you to listen, and listen well. If the Saiyans were the worst threat to the Earth, then you could be sure that I _would not _merge with you, but I am afraid there is a far worse power on its way."

"WHAT! How is that possible!"

"We could ponder 'how' and 'why' all we want, Piccolo, but that wouldn't save us."

"You're absolutely right. We need to do this right now! It's our only chance."

"That may be the case, but I haven't yet made up my mind."

"Are you joking! If you don't merge with me right now, I'll force you to!"

Piccolo aimed his outstretched palm at Mr Popo and began to charge up ki.

"How dare you! How dare you come here and threaten us!" Kami charged at Piccolo, ready to strike him with his staff, but the younger Namek wasn't fazed. He vaporised the terrified Mr Popo, a sadistic grin on his face. As Kami swung at him swung at him, he blocked the staff, using a ki push to send the Guardian of Earth crashing into the palace.

"Give it up, old man! You're almost completely worthless, and as of now, your only use is to give me more power than I could ever dream of!"

He made his way over to Kami and hoisted the elder Namek out of the rubble, placing a hand on his chest. The sky went dark, and both bodies began to glow silver.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Rebellion**

Chapter VII: _Tyrant_

Frieza was furious. He sat on his hover-chair, a stone-faced Zarbon standing motionless beside him. Dodoria, terrified, knelt before the tyrant, shaking and sweating. They were on the Mother-ship, barrelling towards the co-ordinates that Frieza had had his navigators receive from the tracking system of the stolen Planet Trade vessel, unbeknownst to the Saiyans, at the very moment that Dodoria had informed him of the failed mission. The fat, pink alien had apparently pursued the Saiyans' power signals to the centre of the city, only to catch a brief glance of the Mark II _Ironspeed _blasting off into the distance. Hesent a scouter signal to the Control Station of Frieza Planet #236, and had barely made it back in time for the Mother-ship's departure.

But now, as Dodoria looked down, his sweat dripping to the ground and forming a small puddle, he knew that he had no choice but to beg Frieza for a second chance. As he struggled to find the right words, the Tyrant finally broke his agonizing silence.

"You have failed me, Dodoria," he said, his tone icy-cold.

"Please, Lord Frieza! I can expl-"

"Silence. I gave you a simple task; to ambush and bring back the broken, unconscious bodies of two warriors much weaker than yourself. There is no excuse for such failure."

"But my lord! Vege-"

"It burns the empty husk that was once my soul to admit it, but Vegeta outsmarted me. That does not explain, however, how he managed to defeat you in combat. Since when was he more powerful than you?"

"He's not! You can rest assured, that little freak got lucky, and there is nothing more to it. I swear to you!"

"Please, I don't care about such trivial things as the almost non-existent power of weaklings like yourself and Vegeta. I'm merely annoyed at how your incompetence has cost me not only the latest model scouters, but also my plans to make the long-prepared journey to Planet Namek, and finally gain the immortality that I have yearned for."

Dodoria gulped, realising that his failure would go far from unpunished.

"I'm not going to kill you." said Frieza, but as he noticed the relief on the face of Dodoria, he decided to announce the catch.

"...You're going to suffer a fate _far _worse than that," he smirked.

The fat, pink alien trembled at these words.

"Look into my eyes," said Frieza.

"No! Please don't make me!"

"Do as I say!"

Dodoria slowly raised his head until he was looking straight at Frieza. The tyrant's eyes lost all colour and became empty. For a moment nothing happened, and then it hit Dodoria like the fires of hell. He felt his soul being pierced and his very life essence torn and stretched. He wanted to tear himself away from Frieza's gaze, but he knew that no force in the universe could ever possess the power to do so.

General Abrigot was terrified. He had seen countless horrors in his time working under the Cold Empire, but nothing could prepare him for the sight that was now before his eyes. The great Dodoria was trembling on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he met the gaze of Lord Frieza. A few seconds passed, and the great, pink brute's eyes began to lull back so that only the whites were showing. He slumped over, unmoving.

"I-is he dead?" asked Abrigot, momentarily forgetting his place.

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak, General. But to answer your question; no, he is not dead, but right now, I can guarantee you that he wishes he was. Soon, his mind will be gone, and he will become nothing more than a senseless animal, driven by pure rage; a slave to my every command."

His face still void of emotion, Zarbon looked at Dodoria, knowing that he was trapped in a mental prison. He and Dodoria had seen Frieza use the "Cold Stare" many times in the past. It was a horrifying ability possessed by every member of the Icejin race, to which the Cold family belonged. It broke down every victim and reduced them to the same state, regardless of their bravery or willpower. The longer Frieza left them trapped, the more vicious they would become when released.

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yet another short chapter I know, but don't fret, for it is all part of my master plan! _

_Also, if you any questions about the story leave them in the form of a review and I'll answer them in the "Author's Note" section of the next chapter._

_-TheSaiyanDemonPrince_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Rebellion**

Chapter VIII: _Stranded_

Raditz lowered his hand. Killing his brother would be a waste. There had to be another way.

"So you've decided to spare him?" asked Vegeta.

"Despite having grown up in this exceptionally weak gravity and without the benefit of a tail, Kakarot possesses power almost as great as my own. It would be a pity to put an end to such promising potential," said Raditz, not daring to make eye-contact with Vegeta.

"I'll accept your decision, but not for the reasons you mentioned," said the prince.

"Then why?"

"Because he has a son, and it is well-known that Half-Saiyans can be extremely powerful. And obviously, it will be easier to get the boy to co-operate if his father is still breathing."

"I'm pretty sure we could get him to co-operate anyway," growled Nappa, who was clearly in favour of ending Goku's life.

"Hmmm, I think I have a good compromise. We'll leave Kakarot here for a few hours while we attend to other matters. If he's still alive when we come back, he will have earned himself an alliance with us," smirked Vegeta.

"Other matters?" asked Raditz.

"We have to prepare for Freeza's inevitable arrival. The first thing we must do is make sure our ship is safe. It may be our only means of escape if things get too dangerous. Nappa, Raditz, I want you to go back to the old namek's lookout and eliminate him and his assistant. The location is secure, but I have a feeling that they may try to destroy the ship if they run out of options."

"We're on it," said Raditz.

"What are you going to do, Vegeta?" asked Nappa.

"I'm going to track down the highest authority on this planet and find out if there is any kind of military that could help us in our war against Freeza."

"That's a good idea, but why would they agree to help us?"

"Fear is a powerful motivator." 

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo clenched his fists. He could feel incredible flowing through his veins. He knew that Kami's soul was somewhere inside him, but it was buried so deeply that Piccolo felt it didn't even matter. He looked around at the remains of the lookout.

"I suppose I should destroy what's left of this dump," he muttered to himself as he circled the lookout.

He came to an abrupt stop upon noticing a large, grey spaceship on the other side of the temple.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? I guess it belongs to that alien trash that I was so wary of before. Oh well, I'm sure they're nothing to me now..." he snarled, before blasting the ship, reducing it to smithereens.

Suddenly, he could sense two significant powers closing in on him.

"What's that? They're even stronger than Goku. Ha, too bad that's nowhere near enough."

XXXXXXXXXX

Nappa and Raditz could almost see the lookout in the distance.

"I'll tear that wrinkled old prune apart!" boomed Nappa, a sadistic grin on his face.

The Saiyans scouters both started to beep more and more rapidly until they exploded.

"What was that? I just picked up a power level of least 24,000! It overloaded my scouter!" yelled Raditz, a bead of sweat running down his face

"Don't worry about it. Those older model scouters must have been on the fritz. Don't tell me you've forgotten about the state of the art ones that we picked up before the fight with Dodoria." said Nappa, grinning, as he pulled out the small case that was tucked under his tail.

"Oh yeah, let's try those babies out!"

Nappa opened the case to find it was filled with hundreds of tiny metal cubes. He grabbed one of the cubes and looked at it, trying to figure what to do. He applied a bit of pressure with his thumb, and sure enough, it began to fold out and expand, making electronic sounds. Before he knew it, he was holding a sleek-looking silver scouter with a colourless, transparent glass eyepiece.

"Neat," said Nappa, before tossing a cube to Raditz.

He did the same with his, and the two put on their new scouters.

"Wow, talk about features. I don't understand any of them except power level and threat level, though," said Nappa.

Raditz pressed a button on the side of his scouter and it began to beep.

"Uh, Nappa, I don't think the old scouters were faulty after all. I'm picking up a power level of 27,000 in the same direction as before," he gulped.

"There must be a new standard numerical reading. I'll bet 27,000 is equal to 2,700 in the old measurements," said Nappa, still confident.

"Well then why does it say the threat level is _very high_?" asked Raditz, not convinced.

"Simple. They must be programmed for the average weak soldier in Freeza's army. To them, a power in the low thousands would be a very high threat."

"I guess you're right. But even still, I didn't think the old Namek was that strong," said Raditz.

"Look, there is nothing to worry about, so if you're going to chicken out, you'll never live it down."

Raditz grunted in response, and the two blasted off towards the lookout. As they got closer, a Namek wearing a white cape and turban came into view.

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo watched as two rough looking space pirates touched down in front of him. The one on the left was large, but shorter than he was, with long black spiky hair that went all the way down to his knees. The other was enormous, bald, and sported a menacing moustache. Surprisingly, they were both completely human in appearance, with the exception of a furry brown tail wrapped around each of their waists. Their tattered, dirty armour stunk of a thousand battles; either that or they hadn't been washed in years. They each wore a device on their right ear with a clear eyepiece.

"Hello boys," said Piccolo, smirking.

"Tell us where the old Namekian is. I know you know. I can tell by looking at you that you're related to him," said Nappa rudely.

"Well, you've got me there. We were of the same blood, but he's a part of me now. So tell me, what is it that you wanted with him?"

"We didn't trust him with our ship, so we planned to kill him. But it looks like things have changed. Namekian fusion, huh? I hope you realise that whatever insignificant boost you got from merging with that old geezer won't be anywhere near enough to handle us," said Nappa, a confident grin spread across his face.

"Haha! You just came to check up on your ship? Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. You're stuck on this planet with me, and I'm afraid that means you're as good as dead."

Raditz looked over Piccolo's shoulder and his eyes met with the smoking debris that was one their ship.

"You destroyed it! I'll kill you!" he roared, before charging at Piccolo.

HeGHH


	9. Chapter 9

**The Rebellion**

Chapter IX: _Confrontations_

Piccolo side-stepped effortlessly as Raditz swung at him, before surprising the warrior with a powerful kick to the back that sent him tumbling along the ground. Nappa was shocked at the Namek's speed and precision. He'd made a fool of Raditz without even trying.

"You want to have a crack as well, baldy?" Piccolo taunted.

A bead of sweat ran down the giant Saiyan's head as he growled in frustration.

"Nobody is that fast! NOBODY!" Nappa boomed, clenching his fists.

"Think again," said Piccolo, before phasing in front of the massive alien warrior and connecting with a solid head butt. Nappa stumbled back, blood running down his chin as he spat out some broken teeth. The Namek grabbed him by the front of his armour and threw him high into the air. Still groggy, the giant tried desperately to spot his attacker, only to feel an elbow drive itself into his ribcage. Unable to stop or even slow his rapid descent, he plummeted and hit the ground hard. A sickening crack indicated that his armour had fractured as a result of the sturdy tiles refusing to give way.

Nappa was down for the count.

"Impossible..." muttered Raditz, willing himself to his feet.

Piccolo stood beside the fallen giant, outstretching his arm. He began to charge up ki, an evil grin spread across his face.

"_This will be a satisfying kill," _he thought with malice.

Suddenly, something snapped in Piccolo's mind. A sharp, agonizing pain that surfaced the moment he had made up his mind to end the Saiyan's life. He grasped his head, falling to one knee.

"Kami!" he hissed, veins bulging as he struggled with his inner-battle.

Raditz looked on in bewilderment as the Namek began to froth at the mouth.

Piccolo roared as loud as he could, which caused the entire lookout to shake and crumble. He turned his attention to the long-haired warrior, who met his gaze and then immediately began to feel his legs weaken. The Saiyan closed his eyes, only opening them after hearing the Namek fly away in frustration.

Raditz sighed with relief, a little confused but mostly glad that he was still alive. He went over to Nappa and tried to rouse him awake, but the larger Saiyan was out cold.

"_I'd better contact Vegeta. He might be pissed that we failed to secure the ship, but with his help, we can hunt that green bastard down."_

Raditz activated his scouter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Vegeta looked down at the beaten, broken body of Raditz' pathetic little brother.

"You're on borrowed time, Kakarot," said the Prince, but he was almost sure that his words fell on deaf ears.

"The only reason I'm keeping you around is because of your half-breed son. Saiyans with mixed blood are told to have incredible potential; deep-rooted power that, when untrained, can only be accessed in times of blind rage or dire need. Such a power is an asset in the war against Freeza."

Vegeta snarled and stomped on Goku's back, causing the hero to whimper in pain.

"I'll be back in twenty-four hours, and I'll have your son with me. If you're still alive, I'll consider letting you join us. Don't go anywhere," he smirked.

The Prince hovered a few inches above the ground and turned on his scouter. After a quick scan, he deduced that there were no significant powers in the immediate area.

"_I'll have a better look anyway. If I'm right about Kakarot, he has the ability to suppress his ki, which means it's possible that his brat might know the same technique," _Vegeta thought to himself as he took off into the mountains.

He flew steadily for a few minutes, making sure he scanned every area thoroughly. Suddenly, Raditz voice blared through the sound piece on his scouter.

"**PRINCE VEGETA! I HAVE SOME URGENT NEWS!"**

"Stop screaming into the scouter. I can hear you fine. Now, what is it?" he grumbled, barely interested.

"**There's another Namekian on this planet, and he merged with old 'Kami'!"**

Vegeta was slightly surprised, but still not worried.

"I know Namekian fusion can be very potent, but still, he should have been no match for Nappa and yourself. Don't tell me this fused Namek got the better of you..."

"**You don't understand! He was abnormally strong! He took down Nappa effortlessly!"**

"What? Put me on to that great buffoon right this instant!"

"**I can't! He's still unconscious!"**

"Where's the Namek now?" Vegeta was beginning to lose his patience. Another potential threat was the last thing he needed.

"**He's gone, and somehow I can't detect his power signal! Also, he kind of destroyed the ship..."**

"Oh well, no big deal."

"**What a relief! I thought you were going to be pissed. So, are you having any luck with your mission?"**

"Oh yeah...that," Vegeta had no real interest in recruiting Earth's military.

He had simply told Raditz and Nappa that that was what he was doing so that they didn't insist in helping him find Kakarot's brat. They would be too forceful and intimidating, whereas Vegeta wanted to use his skills in smooth persuasion to convince the boy to join his cause. Instead, he had given them the dull task of checking up on the ship, but made it a little more interesting for them by ordering them to kill the old Namekian.

"The Earth's military is pathetic. I examined their most advanced equipment," Vegeta lied.

"**Shit. That's no good. What are we going to do now?"**

"I'm searching for someone who might be able to help us as we speak. You'll meet him shortly."

"**Okay. What should we do in the meantime?"**

"You said that the Elder Namekian fused with another one, didn't you?"

"**Yeah, what of it?"**

"Remember when I secretly found out about Freeza's plans to visit Planet Namek? Well I did a background check, and it turns out that Namekians have the ability to create dragonballs; golden orbs with red stars. Legend has it that there are seven in total, and when brought together they will summon an eternal dragon who can grant the user any wish they desire. If there are several Namekians on this planet, then there is a chance that there might be a set of dragonballs," Vegeta had been considering it as a possibility since he had first met Kami.

"**Hey, you're right! We could wish to be powerful enough to defeat Freeza!"**

"We'll decide on the wish once we've collected the balls. Start your search immediately. I will assist you once I've dealt with this other matter."

"_The matter of Kakarot's brat," _Vegeta smirked, before increasing his speed and blasting off into the distance.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Rebellion**

Chapter X: _Godsend_

Goku tried to open his eyes, but they were crusted over with blood. He could feel his bones crackle as soon as he tried to move anything, which indicated that they were nearly all broken. Why had Raditz left him alive? It seemed unbelievably cruel. He wasn't going to give up though; he couldn't afford to. Those 'Saiyans', as they called themselves, were nothing but bad news, and now their leader was after Gohan. He had overheard Vegeta muttering about it, and Goku absolutely refused to let it happen. He tried with all his might to make one of his arms budge, but it was no use. He felt like he was about to black out again, when suddenly a small object was pushed into his mouth.

A warm feeling rushed through Goku as he chewed, and he could feel his body begin to rapidly repair itself. Soon, he was able to move, and he pushed himself into a sitting position. As his eyes re-adjusted to the sunlight, he started to make out the form of a chubby, white cat standing on its hind legs and holding a wooden staff.

"K-Korin?"

"Hello, Goku. It seems you've managed to get yourself beaten up pretty bad, once again," said the wise old feline, rubbing his nose with his paw.

"Yeah, I don't what I'd do without those senzu beans of your's..." said Goku, gratefully.

"I'll be honest with you, kid. I'm not just here on a whim. Kami sent me a telepathic message that you would need my assistance, right before he disappeared."

"What? Kami's dead?" Goku sprang to his feet.

"No, he's still very much alive. He has become part of Piccolo, now."

"You mean he's reunited with his evil half, becoming the original, powerful being that he was before he split? He told me all about his past years ago when I was training under him."

"Not exactly. Piccolo found a way to twist the merging process in an unnatural way, and now Kami is buried deep within his evil counterpart's consciousness."

"That's horrible! I have to stop him!"

"Don't bother. He's way too powerful; even more so than if they had merged the natural way." said Korin, stroking his whiskers.

"Well what do you suggest I do? With all that power, he's bound to start terrorising the planet. Not to mention I have to do something about the Saiyans... Man this all too much for just one guy," Goku slumped his shoulders.

"Kami left me with more than just one message, you know. He told me to take you to Baba the witch, who just happens to be an old friend of mine."

"Baba? What for?"

"I can't really tell you for certain, but if I had to make a guess, I'd say it's because she has some connections in Otherworld, the place all souls go to after death. It seems that you're in for some very special training."

Goku's eyes lit up at the mention of his favourite hobby.

"But wait... I'm not dead..."

"You will be if we don't hurry up."

XXXXXXXXXX

Raditz breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his boots squash into the unmistakable texture of soft grass. He had carried Nappa over his shoulder for what seemed like hours during a very slow descent from the lookout. During the 'journey', he had passed by a circular temple carved from stone. As he passed by, he had been called rude names by a fat man who was stuffing his face with beans of some kind. Raditz would have blasted the fool, if it were not for the fact that he was trying to conserve energy.

But now, as he looked around, he realised that he was in a forest clearing at the base of the tower he had been following. There was a strange pointed house made from a thin material not far from where Raditz was standing. A large, dark-skinned man strolled out of the entrance-flap and made his way over to Raditz.

"My name is Bora. What business do you have here?" asked the man.

"My companion is unconscious and quite wounded. Is there somewhere where he can rest for a while?" asked Raditz, deciding that he would try to gain the man's trust until Nappa recovered.

Bora studied the individual before him, his eyes thinning in concentration. Finally, he smiled and pointed towards his tepee.

"Of course. We always offer our hospitality to those who need it. Bring your friend inside."

Raditz followed Bora into the 'tepee', as he had called it. It was quite large, about twenty feet high and ten feet across. There was an empty bed made from leaves at the back.

"Lay him down here," said Bora, and Raditz obliged, ungraciously dropping Nappa on the bed.

Raditz let out a big sigh and stretched his back, relieved that he was finally free of the larger Saiyan's immense weight. Bora raised an eyebrow, surprised that Raditz would be so rough with his injured companion. He knelt down over Nappa and examined his wounds, particularly the missing teeth, broken ribs and fractured skull. Eventually, he stood up

"I'll be back shortly. Nature has many natural remedies for such bodily damage, although your friend is lucky to be alive. I'll go and get Upa, his mother tought him a lot about healing before she died."

Raditz twitched as Bora said the word 'friend', but didn't bother correcting him.

Now alone with Nappa in the tepee, Raditz began to have a look around. Most of Bora's belongings were dull and uninteresting; definitely not worth stealing. He was about to sit down, when something shiny caught his eye. He moved a few objects out of the way before picking it up. A small, golden ball with two red stars. He held it in his hand.

"Jackpot," Raditz grinned.

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo was enraged at Kami for softening him, but reasoned that what had happened was a one-time deal, and that he would now be able to kill as he pleased. There was no trace of Kami's soul anymore, so Piccolo figured that the mental attack was the Guardian's last effort before ceasing to exist.

Flying through a wasteland at a speed that he never thought would be within his grasp, Piccolo decided that now was as good a time as ever to begin his take over of Earth.

It wasn't long before he came to a small town, it's few buildings interweaved by busy roads and bustling pedestrians. The Super Namek began to gather ki in his fist, ready to unleash a wave of devastation.

The people never saw it coming; there was an explosion in the city center, followed by a red shockwave that obliterated everything in it's path, leaving only an enormous crater where Ginger Town used to be.

"HAHAHA! You didn't stop me that time, did you Kami? This planet is MINE for the taking!"

As Piccolo continued to celebrate, something creeped into his mind; an energy signal like nothing he had ever felt before.

"W-what the hell is that?" a bead of sweat ran down Piccolo's forehead as he began to concentrate.

"_Something insanely powerful is heading towards Earth! This is bad!" _the Namek clenched his fists until they began to seep blood, before finally slumping his shoulders in disbelief.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Rebellion**

Chapter XI: _Countdown_

Vegeta kept his scouter set to automatic as he surveyed the barren mountain range.

"It doesn't seem likely that anyone would want to live in such dry terrain. Perhaps I'm more likely to find Kakarot's son in the grassy region," The prince reasoned, before blasting off towards his new destination, smashing through gigantic rocks whenever they got in his way.

Eventually he came to an enormous, lush valley. Judging by the obvious abundance of water, trees, fruit and game, Vegeta thought it was very likely that Kakarot would choose to live in such a habitable location.

Switching his scouter to manual, Vegeta began to scan the area, picking up thousands of pathetically weak energy signals from the wildlife. Only a few seconds passed before he registered two above-average power levels at the edge of the valley. One was at 370, and the other a little over 100.

_"Kakarot's mate and brat, no doubt." _

The prince smirked, before flying in the direction of the two signals.

XXXXXXXXXX

Korin struggled to keep up with Goku as the impatient hero blasted through the desert. Goku was determined to not waste any time in getting to Baba's palace, as the fate of the world was hanging in the balance.

"Goku, stop!" yelled Korin, trying to catch his breath.

"We can't afford to stop now!" Goku said in return, his tone deadly serious.

"No, you dope, the palace is just down there! You're about to fly right past it..."

"Oh, right" said Goku sheepishly, as he suddenly halted in mid air.

"I guess I was only paying attention to what was in front of me," he reasoned, scratching the back of his head.

"I'll say," responded Korin, rolling his eyes.

The two descended to the ground near the large, blue lake on which Baba's palace was situated.

Jogging up to the entrance, Goku's path was blocked by a small, white ghost bobbing in midair.

"May I help you?" it squeaked, a friendly look on its face.

"Oh hey, little ghost...thing... Long time no see! I really need to see Baba. It's urgent."

The ghost looked unsure for a moment, and then noticed Korin standing a few feet away.

"Yes, of course! The mistress said that she was expecting you. This way, please."

XXXXXXXXXX

Raditz stood patiently beside the bed that Nappa lay on, whilst Upa, now a young adult, tended to the enormous Saiyan. Much to Bora's surprise, Nappa wasn't groaning or grunting in pain at all, even when Upa rubbed the very-acidic natural healing cream on his open wounds. On top of that, all of his visible injuries, big and small, were seemingly repairing themselves at an impossibly fast rate. Not ten minutes had passed, and the Saiyan looked pretty much good as new.

Standing up from the bed, Nappa grabbed his armour and pulled it over his head. It may have been cracked and blood stained, but it represented his hard-fought battles against Dodoria and the Namek, as well as the fact that he had managed to survive against such impossible odds. Despite everything, he was proud of it.

Bora stood up as well, his large frame dwarfed by Nappa's even larger one.

"Tell me, how is that you healed so fast? I know Upa's methods are good, but it should have still taken a few days for you to recover."

"For an earthling, maybe, but us Saiyans are bred for battle. Our genetics are superior to most other races, so we require only the most mediocre of medical treatment to survive and recover from even the worst of injuries," said Raditz.

"Not to mention our power increases a whole lot every time we bounce back from a beating," said Nappa, pounding his fist into his palm.

"You mean to say that you are barbarian race, and that you exist only to cause violence and grow stronger as a result?" asked Upa, his eyes squinted as he grew wary of the visitors.

"Pretty much, but you better mean that in a good way," said Raditz, his tone slightly threatening.

"Why would the gods even create beings like that? Such mindlessly aggressive ideals can only bring pain and destruction. What is the point?" asked Bora.

Before the large man could react, Nappa grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, before hoisting him off the ground, his hand still wrapped tightly around his neck.

"I'll tell you why the gods created us! So that one day, _they themselves_ might hope to find a challenge to their power!" boomed the giant Saiyan.

Upa lunged at his father's attacker, connecting with a barrage of punches and kicks that didn't so much as tickle Nappa's back. Upa was unguarded as one of the giant's elbows slammed into his face, shattering his cheek bone and knocking him out cold.

Unable to help his son, sweat poured down Bora's face as he struggled to breath, his eyes wet with fear as the rage-filled behemoth pulled his fist back, ready to punch a hole through Bora's abdomen.

"Nappa, don't kill him! We may need their assistance in the future," said Raditz, feeling the glowing, golden ball held tightly in place at the back of his waist by his tail.

"Argghh fine," said Nappa, clearly struggling with his decision, but at the same time knowing that Raditz was right.

He dropped Bora to the ground. The dark-skinned man was trembling slightly, but he hadn't completely lost his composure. As Nappa and Raditz made their way out of the entrance to the tepee, Bora used every ounce of willpower he had to pull himself to his feet.

"No! I'll never help you again!" he roared, picking up a spear and tossing it as hard as he could at Nappa's back.

The spear broke on impact. The enormous Saiyan didn't even flinch and completely ignored it. Both he and Raditz proceeded to levitate from the ground, before exploding with ki and blasting off into the sky. The shockwave caused the tepee to rustle violently.

"Im...possible," said Bora, his mouth agape as he stared blankly at the broken spear on the ground.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Bora walked back inside and lifted up Upa, placing him on the bed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are we heading to Vegeta?" asked Nappa, as the whipped past his face.

"Yeah, that seems like the best thing to do," responded Raditz.

"But won't he be pissed? I mean, we kinda failed the mission he assigned to us... badly."

"No, he already told me that he didn't care too much about that anyway, and besides, I have something that'll cheer him right up," smirked the long-haired Saiyan as he reached behind his back and pulled out a shining gold ball with two blood-red stars.

"What... is... that?" asked Nappa slowly, clearly mesmerized by the glistening orb.

Raditz gave Nappa the full explanation, making sure not to go into too much detail, as he didn't want to confuse or bore the giant Saiyan.

"I see," he said, after Raditz had finished talking.

"So there's six more of those things, huh? And once they're all together, we get any wish we want?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it."

"Yeah, so it looks like we have a fighting chance after all! Freeza's going to get what's coming to him!"

Just as Nappa finished his sentence, both of the Saiyan's scouters started to beep.

"That's weird... I'm picking up an insanely high power level," said Raditz, smacking his scouter with the palm of his hand to make sure it wasn't broken.

"What the hell is at 700,000?" Nappa was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Raditz' eyes widened in terror.

"It's Freeza! His ship must have just entered the atmosphere!" the long haired Saiyan was nearly choking as he talked.

Nappa trembled, pressing the button on his scouter again to make sure.

"It's... it's him alright. There are hundreds of other smaller power levels in the same location..."

"I thought we had far more time than this..." Raditz was beside himself.

"D..do you think Vegeta knows that he's arrived?"

"Probably not, Prince Vegeta still has an old model scouter. It won't automatically register a power too big for its sensors or any others in that power's general vicinity; just a safety feature to prevent the thing from exploding unexpectedly..."

"In that case, we need to get over to him as quickly as possible, and somehow find the dragonballs before Freeza finds us!"

Increasing their speed as much as possible, the two rocketed off in the direction of Vegeta's energy signal.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Rebellion**

Chapter XII: _Search and Destroy_

As Freeza sat motionless in his hover chair, an enormous screen lowered before him.

"My lord, we are within Earth's atmosphere and will be landing momentarily. While we wait, I thought I'd direct your attention towards the data we have gathered on this planet," said Zarbon.

"Proceed," was the Tyrant's one word response.

"As you wish. We have determined that the planet is very habitable, with pathetically weak natives and comfortable climates. The wildlife is also quite tame. It stands to reason that it would fetch a very high price, and is therefore ideal for purging," Zarbon continued, motioning towards a three-dimensional representation of Earth, which was rotating on the screen.

"Excellent," said Freeza, his face not displaying the expression that would match his remark.

The walls began to rattle slightly as the Mothership slowed its descent, before finally reaching a complete stop as it touched down on solid ground. The screen before Freeza retracted, revealing the enormous window that now showed a lush, green forest on the other side.

"One more thing, my lord. With the knowledge that Vegeta is somewhere on the planet, do you not think it would be _wise_ to have me to find and neutralize the problem... personally?" Zarbon queried, his face showing signs of hope.

"Yes, that would certainly be the cleanest course of action," replied Freeza.

"The most direct decision is usually the most effective," Zarbon coaxed.

"Alright, we'll play it your way. Find the Saiyans, exterminate the two weaker ones, and bring Vegeta back so that I can punish him myself. If they are not all in the same place, then just head straight for Vegeta. The other two will die when I destroy the planet anyway…"

"Yes, my lord," said Zarbon, the corner of his mouth upturned into a smirk.

"Also, assuming that the Saiyans are still in possession of them, you are to retrieve the new scouters and bring them back to me. No mistakes, Zarbon."

"I won't let you down, sire."

Zarbon exited the room, and made his way down a corridor to the exit. The shockwave from Zarbon taking off made the wine in Freeza's glass wobble slightly.

Suddenly, the door on the left of the room slid open, and the figure of Cui stepped through. The purple alien strode over to the Tyrant, his steps direct and purposeful, a physical representation of his confidence.

"Cui, do you recall why I decided to bring you along?" asked Freeza, as his subordinate knelt down before him and faced the floor, so as to not make eye contact with his master.

"Yes, my lord. You wish for me to hunt down and eliminate the Saiyans, do you not?" responded Cui.

"That was indeed your original mission. However, in a recent turn of events, Zarbon has taken it upon himself to deal with the monkeys personally. I agree with him that that will be the easiest option. You will no longer be needed for that task."

Cui shifted his gaze from Freeza, struggling to hide his snarl, his top lip curled from jealousy of that freak, Zarbon. Taking down Vegeta was supposed to be _his _job and his alone, but that obnoxious pretty boy was once again stealing the spotlight. Cui looked back up at Freeza, still trying to keep his composure.

"I am here now, so what would you have me do, sire?" he asked, hoping that Freeza could at least think of somethingfun for him to do.

"Well, I suppose you could pass the time by locating and wiping out any _other_ significant powers on the planet. Who knows? You might even find a challenge," said Freeza, his sarcastic tone reflecting his indifference.

Cui silently chuckled at the idea of some backwater planet like Earth possessing any decent fighters. He stood up and bowed at Freeza, deciding to leave before he outstayed his welcome.

"I suggest you take a squad of soldiers with you, to cater for the overwhelmingly likely scenario that there isn't anyone actually worth getting your hands dirty for," Freeza added.

Nodding in agreement, Cui turned and walked out back out of the same door through which he entered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo stood motionlessly on the edge of a cliff, at the top of a sheer rock face. His eyes were closed as he used meditational techniques to try and discover more about the enormous new power that had just descended upon the Earth.

After a few minutes of concentration, he determined that there were in fact several hundred individuals in the same location, and the vast majority of the power belonged to a single being. On top of that, two other significant powers had broken away from the main one and were heading in different directions.

"_If I can get my hands on either of those two while they are separated from the main power, I shouldn't have any problems running a little interrogation and finding out why the hell they are here," _Piccolo thought to himself as he continued to mentally analyze all of the possibilities.

Opening his eyes, the Super Namek continued to keep his power suppressed to almost nothing as he silently glided off into the night.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gohan's shoulders were tensed. Chichi was staring at him, concerned, as he was not touching the meal that was sitting on the plate before him.

"Hey, what's the matter, sweetie? You know that you father will be back any minute. He wouldn't miss dinner for the world," she said as comfortingly as possible.

"I know, and that's why I'm so worried. He seemed really serious when he told me to leave. He said that there was a threat on the way. More than one energy signal too… You don't think they could've beat him, do you mom?"

"Whoever it was, I'm sure your father was able to handle it. If there's one thing that man excels at, it's fighting," said Chichi, half sighing.

"I know, but I still have a bad feeling about this. I'm going to try to sense him," said Gohan, closing his eyes and screwing up his face in concentration.

At that exact moment, a loud crashing noise sounded behind Chichi as the front door flew off of its handles. Gohan leapt to his feet, knocking the table over as he tried to spot the cause of the ruckus. A short, lean-built man with flaming black hair and damaged battle armour emerged from the fading dust. He had a confident grin on his face as he stared into Gohan's eyes. Chichi was on the ground, frozen in shock.

"Sorry about the door. I tried to knock, but I guess they don't build them very sturdy on this planet. Not surprising really…" said the man, either failing to notice or just plain ignoring Gohan's furious expression.

"Get out of my house!" screamed Chichi.

"Be quiet, woman. This does not concern you."

"Who the hell are you?! And why are you here?!" Gohan demanded.

Vegeta was surprised at how similar the brat sounded to his father. He studied Gohan up and down, paying particular attention to his defensive stance.

"You've quite the mouth on you, boy. That's no way to greet your prince," said Vegeta, feigning offense.

"Prince?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Vegeta smirked, wondering if he would get a similar reaction to Kakarot's.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Rebellion**

Chapter XIII: _Fearless_

Zarbon stood hovering in mid air, his gaze lingering at the lush green forest beneath his feet. He had recommended the planet be purged for sale once Vegeta was captured, but Lord Freeza seemed to think that it wasn't worth expending manpower to hunt down the two weaker monkeys when he could just the blow the whole planet up and be done with it.

As the expression on his face changed from contemplative to bored, Zarbon pressed a button on his scouter and began scanning the planet for the Saiyans' power levels. He located Vegeta almost immediately; the prince's energy signal standing out despite being literally on the other side of the planet.

Earth was relatively small, but it would still take a few hours to reach Vegeta, assuming he stayed in the same general area and didn't try to evade Zarbon. The two weaker Saiyans were moving rapidly in the direction of their prince, probably desperately trying to reunite with him upon detecting Freeza's arrival.

What didn't make sense was that Vegeta was not making any effort to close the gap between himself and his fellow monkeys. Weren't the Saiyans using the new model scouters, which had been upgraded to no longer malfunction upon reading high power levels or refuse to detect a power that could cause malfunction?

If Vegeta was still using an old scouter, it would be no surprise that it neglected to detect Freeza, but surely that was not the case; not even the Saiyans would be stupid enough to forget to wear the state-of-the-art technology that they went to so much trouble to steal, would they?

Shrugging, Zarbon re-pressed the same button on his scouter to cease the scan, before flying off in Vegeta's direction.

XXXXXXXXXX

Goku stood facing a stone archway, the center of which seemed to be a shimmering golden veil. It was mesmerizing to stare at, almost liquid-like with swirling patterns and obscure shapes.

"This is the gateway to Otherworld," explained Baba.

Goku's eyes were wide with fascination, and he could barely contain his excitement. Korin stood at the back of the room, his face expressionless, but with an air of wisdom.

"Are you ready?" asked Baba.

Before Goku could answer, a loud 'clank' sounded from behind him as Korin's staff hit the ground. Contrary to a few seconds earlier, there was now a look of sheer terror on the face of the wise old feline.

"What's wrong?" asked Goku, his voice full of concern.

"A power far beyond anything I ever imagined…" Korin managed to choke out.

Suddenly, Goku's fists clenched tightly as he too felt the enormous, terrible ki.

"It's…unreal…" was all he managed to say.

In an instant, the shock left Goku's eyes and was replaced with sheer determination.

"Sorry Baba, but it would be foolish for me to leave now. I know that I don't a chance against whoever that horrible energy belongs to, but I have to do something. That power will destroy this world if I don't at least try!"

"No, Goku! We can't afford to lose you! At least think this through!" shouted Baba as Goku blasted out of the palace and up into the air.

"Come back!" she screamed, knowing it would do no good.

The old witch sighed, drooping her shoulders in defeat as the young warrior disappeared into the distance.

"I'm sure he has a plan," said Korin, placing a hand on Baba's shoulder.

"_Nimbus!_" Goku's voice could be heard shouting from somewhere far away.

"He knows that this is a battle he can't win. Let's just hope he survives it…somehow," said Baba.

XXXXXXXXXX

Deep in the wilderness, a three-eyed warrior and a small, doll-like being sat quietly on opposite sides of a glowing campfire.

"What are we going to do, Ten?" Chaozu broke the silence, his little face scrunched up with anxiety.

"There's nothing we _can _do for now. Whoever that energy belongs to is far too powerful for me to even hope to stand a chance. We'll just have to lay low and think up a plan," replied Tenshinhan.

Nodding in agreement, Chaozu turned his gaze to the fire. He didn't want to admit it to his closest friend, but it didn't seem like any amount of strategy would save them from this particular predicament.

"Wait a minute. Chaozu, do you feel that? There's a small group of ki signals heading in our direction. One of them stands out in particular, and is far greater than the others," said Tenshinhan, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Do we stay and fight?" asked Chaozu, trying to hide his fear.

"I'll hold them off for as long as I can. I want you to get as far away from here as possible," Ten responded, and it was exactly what Chaozu had expected him to say.

"No, I won't abandon you, Ten. They'll just catch up to me anyway. I'll fight by your side to the bitter end."

Tenshinhan looked down at his small friend, realizing for the first time that Chiaotzu valued their companionship every bit as much as he did. A small, warm smile spread across the face of the three-eyed warrior.

"So be it."

XXXXXXXXXX

Goku struggled to keep his patience under control as the wind whipped relentlessly against his face, the flying nimbus tearing through the sky beneath his feet. Despite the hopelessness of the task that lay before him, Goku couldn't help but feel a little bit anxious.

Fighting strong opponents was more than just a hobby for the young warrior, and being that this was sure to be far and away the strongest opponent Goku had ever faced, he was actually struggling to keep a lid on his excitement.

The nimbus was now weaving in between mountains, rapidly drawing closer to its destination. After a few minutes, the mountain range opened up into a large forest clearing. A vast, circular space ship sat unmoving and towered over the trees surrounding it. It was so immense that it almost blocked out the sun.

There were around twenty to thirty alien soldiers standing outside what appeared to be the entrance to the ship. They all wore the same armor as the Saiyans, albeit noticeably less damaged. Goku knew that he would need the element of surprise if he wanted to take them all out, so he kept his power suppressed to zero as he dropped off his nimbus cloud and landed softly amongst the trees.

XXXXXXXXXX

General Abrigot had no time to react as an elbow slammed to his face and sent him crunching along the ground. The other soldiers recoiled in shock as they tried to deduce what had happened. Three more strikes and suddenly a few of them were launched into nearby trees.

"Show yourself!" screamed one of the soldiers, as many more crunches and cracks were sending them all flying every which way, until only three were left standing. General Abrigot pulled himself up off the ground, grumbling in aggravation.

He turned to what was left of his platoon, and saw that there was an earthling with wild black hair and an orange gi standing before his men. He wasn't too surprised to see that Captain Krape was one of the three remaining, but even the decorated veteran looked slightly intimidated.

Krape made a gesture at the other two, and all three rushed at the wild-haired stranger. It was over before it started. The man quickly dispatched of the two lowly soldiers with vicious strikes, before firing a small ki blast that the captain deflected, only to realise that it was just a distraction.

Krape never saw it coming. A powerful kick to the side of the head shattered his scouter and sent him face-first into the dirt. He was out cold.

XXXXXXXXXX

Goku was quite impressed with his own abilities. Apparently he had become quite a bit stronger after healing from Raditz' beating, however that worked. Suddenly, a slow clapping sounded from behind, and Goku snapped his head around to see that the first soldier he had knocked down was relatively unscathed.

"Not bad, not bad at all…" said the soldier, who Goku now realized looked to be a higher rank than the rest.

"I am General Abrigot, and even though that is my assigned platoon that you just beat up, I can't help but be intrigued by your strength. My superiors informed me that there were no decent warriors on this mud ball. I guess they were wrong…"

"I guess they were. Speaking of your 'superiors', I'd like to have a word with them if that's okay with you," said Goku, his gaze meeting the General's.

"I'd ask you why you're so foolish as to want to confront Lord Freeza, but I have a feeling you wouldn't tell me. In any case, if you want to get inside this ship, you'll have to go through me…"

Goku took up his fighting stance, his eyes still locked onto Abrigot's.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Rebellion**

Chapter XIV: _Recruitment_

Gohan could feel an incredible power from the man standing before him, and he knew he would have to be cautious if he wanted to ensure the safety of both his mother and himself. Suddenly, after stepping over the broken door, the man began to speak:

"Both you and your father belong to a legendary warrior race known as the saiyans. Despite what you call him, his real name is Kakarot. Mine is Vegeta, and I too am a member of this race; in fact, I am what you might call royalty." explained Vegeta, as Gohan and Chichi looked on, bewildered.

"You mean you're an alien?" asked Gohan, an air of skepticism to his voice.

"I am not of this world, if that's what you mean. Neither is Kakarot. As you may be aware, he was sent here as an infant." said Vegeta, doing his best to ignore the lack of respect in Gohan's tone.

"All I know is that my dad was found abandoned in the forest when he was a baby, and that I was named after the kind old man that raised him," said Gohan, still unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Your father had all the tools he needed to survive on his own, but it would seem that this old man that you speak off actually single-handedly saved this planet from being purged of all life," responded Vegeta with the softest, least-threatening tone he could muster.

Chichi looked shocked, but didn't say anything.

"Uh… how so?" asked Gohan, his face reflecting his confusion.

"Saiyan babies that are sent to planets such as this typically grow up in a wasteland. Your father is the first I've seen to leave any survivors, let alone the entire civilization," said Vegeta somewhat absently.

"What? My dad would have never hurt innocent people, even if his grandpa hadn't raised him," Gohan argued.

Vegeta pretended to look solemnly at the ground.

"There's an important detail in this story that I've neglected to mention so far. As far as I know, myself, Kakarot and two others are the only remaining full-blooded saiyans. Our race is all but extinct," said Vegeta, faking an expression of longing.

"Well… that's terrible and all, but what does it have to do with my dad apparently almost committing genocide?" asked Gohan impatiently.

"Many years ago, the saiyans were enslaved by a monstrous tyrant known as Lord Freeza, a representative of the largest planet-trade organization in the known universe. He was the one that ended up destroying our beloved home world and almost eradicating us completely. It started years before that, however. From the day he took control, any of us deemed to be too weak to serve him were slaughtered mercilessly. Newborn infants were brainwashed to be bloodthirsty and violent, and only the most promising were allowed to remain on the doomed saiyan home world, Planet Vegeta, until they were old enough to serve. The rest were sent to 'easy' or peaceful planets in order to clear them of life and make them ready for sale. I was one of the last born before this evil regime was implemented, and thus was not subjected to any brainwashing. Your father, however, was not so lucky. The space pod he was sent here in was equipped with a mind-altering learning device. Apparently it took severe head trauma to undo all of the damage." explained Vegeta, deliberately omitting the fact that saiyans had always been savage by nature.

By the end of this lengthy explanation, Chichi looked like she'd seen a ghost. Without warning, she closed her eyes and fainted.

Moving swiftly, Gohan caught his mother and supported her head in his arms. Apparently somewhat used to this, he quickly turned his attention back to Vegeta.

"That's a lot to take in," Gohan was almost lost for words. He instinctively knew Vegeta was telling him the truth, but something kept him from completely trusting the saiyan prince.

"You see, son of Kakarot, this is why my comrades and I have travelled across the stars to find you. Your father is a decent warrior, no doubt about it, but his power is simply nowhere enough to aid us in our fight against Freeza. You alone have the potential to tip the scales in our favor," proclaimed Vegeta, a convincing look of spirited encouragement in his eyes.

"But…wha… me? Hang on, just wait a sec. You mean this Freeza guy's still around? He didn't leave you alone after he destroyed your entire planet?"

Vegeta almost spat in disgust at the thought of his time working for Freeza. He wouldn't have to fake any emotions for this part.

"My father handed me over to Freeza shortly before Planet Vegeta's destruction. Along with the two other saiyans that I mentioned before, I've lived the past thirty years of my live as a little more than slave to that cruel bastard. We've suffered constant abuse, both mental and physical, and have been treated like scum since day one. He's forced us to do many terrible things, including the slaughtering of countless innocents." said Vegeta, feigning a look of deep regret and choosing his words carefully in order to gain Gohan's sympathy without appearing weak.

"That's horrible, but even under those circumstances, you should still do what's right, even if it means dying rather than taking innocent lives," said Gohan, his face now stern.

Vegeta had to resist the urge to lash out at the boy for his sickening sentimentality. Instead, he simply met Gohan with the harshest of glares.

"You think defying Freeza's orders would have resulted in him simply executing me? You have no idea. Not even in your worst nightmares could you begin to comprehend the unimaginable cruelty that he is capable of. Despite my obedience, I often experienced it firsthand, and I can promise you that not even the noblest of souls would dare disobey him if they knew the kind of hellish punishment that they could expect in return," Vegeta snarled, making Gohan immediately regret challenging the prince's morals.

Upon noticing the nervous look on the boy's face, Vegeta continued:

"Of course, the entire point of a rebellion is to embrace the concept of defiance, so let me assure you that even Freeza's powerful chokehold has it limits when it comes to the indomitable will of the saiyans," said Vegeta, trying to reaffirm what he hoped was Gohan's gradual slip into believing in his cause.

As the son of Goku began to weigh his options, something tingled in the back of his mind. He wasn't very proficient in the art of ki-sensing, but even he could tell feel that something unbelievably powerful had just arrived on Earth.

Gohan's mixed expression of awe and terror caught Vegeta's attention.

"What is it, boy?" demanded the saiyan prince, causing Gohan to break his trance.

"A terrible power, like nothing I've ever felt before," whispered the trembling boy.

"You mean to say you can detect energy without the use of a scouter?" Vegeta asked with both suspicion and curiosity, indicating to Gohan the device on his face.

"I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but I don't need any help to sense ki if that's what you mean…"

"Interesting," muttered Vegeta, before pressing a button on his scouter. It took less than a second for the device to explode, causing the prince to lose color in his face.

"It's Freeza!" he said angrily, much to Gohan's surprise.

"You mean… he's here? Oh man, I understand why you were so helpless for all those years now, Vegeta," whimpered Gohan, causing the saiyan prince's expression to change from anger to pure malice.

"I was _never_ helpless, boy. I've been scheming behind Freeza's back for years. I'd bet that with that ability of yours, you can sense hundreds of comparatively tiny energy signals belonging to some small portion of Freeza's army that he's undoubtedly brought along. I can guarantee you that least half of those idiots would attack their lord and master without question if I gave the order via scouter. Freeza knows almost nothing about the secret rebellion that's been brewing within his forces, just waiting to strike. All we need is the final catalyst, one more warrior who will be powerful enough to stand by my side and help me take on Freeza when the time comes," declared Vegeta, clenching his fist.

Gohan looked into the eyes of the saiyan prince. They were so fierce and determined that they felt like they were piercing right through the boy.

"But… why me? I'm just a kid. I'm nowhere near as strong as my dad, let alone Freeza," said Gohan, his mouth trembling.

"History has shown that half-saiyans have incredible fighting potential. Back when we shared our home world with another race, the tuffles, some inevitable interbreeding occurred. One particular half-saiyan by the name of Ledis single-handedly crippled the entire Tuffle Empire, allowing the saiyan king Vegeta to lead his people to war and swiftly take over. There have been countless other examples throughout the centuries as well. I have no reason to believe that you are an exception, son of Kakarot. There's obviously some work to do if we're going to release this hidden power of yours, but there isn't much time. If you're willing to help our cause, it's now or never," pressured Vegeta.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tenshinhan stood rigid, his expression that of quiet determination as he focused his mental energy in preparation for the coming battle. Two of his eyes were closed, but the third remained eerily open.

Chiaotzu was nervously floating beside his closest friend, and could feel the powerful ki signals that Tenshinhan had sensed closing in fast. He had been told to flee initially, but had refused outright to abandon his lifelong companion.

Suddenly, a group of ten or so figures appeared in the distance. As they got closer, Tenshinhan could see that they were all wearing nearly identical battle armor.

It appeared to consist of a white chest plate, brown segmented shoulder guards and a brown stomach plate. Some of the soldiers also had crotch and hip guards.

Another thing that stood out almost immediately was the strange devices they wore on their faces.

The two former Crane School martial artists kept all five of their eyes locked on the leader, who was by far the strongest, as the squadron landed in front of them.

"Are you lost?" asked Tenshinhan, his commanding tone not having any kind of effect on the leader, who simply smiled in response.

"Good afternoon. My name is Cui. I hope you don't mind us skipping further introductions, but I have been tasked with the amusing mission of wiping out any potentially half-decent warriors on this mud ball. Apparently you're one of the strongest with your power level of…" the soldiers all simultaneously pressed a button on their devices. "…500, which I must admit is rather disappointing. I hope you don't mind if I decline to destroy you myself, but I'd rather not get my hands dirty. At least if you fight Strawb here, you might be able to get a few weak hits in before you die," said Cui, his tone mocking.

Tenshinhan looked at him in disgust. He resembled a sea creature, with purple skin and fish lips, but his eyes were sharp and cunning. The three-eyed warrior was astonished that someone could be so powerful and yet have no idea how to sense ki.

"I don't recommend trying to fight me. I promise you now that I will destroy anyone who attempts to harm me _or _my friend," Tenshinhan warned. He couldn't wait until the soldiers realized that the number on their devices was horribly inaccurate.

Chiaotzu looked up and his eyes met with Tenshinhan's. The small, clown-like warrior nodded before gulping nervously.

The soldiers all began to laugh raucously at the threat, except for Cui, who simply smiled in amusement.

"Ha! Man, you're all talk. Let's get this over with," said the soldier called Strawb, who was easily the largest of the group. He had blue skin and rough white beard, and was extremely muscular.

Unlike the white gloves that most of the soldiers were wearing, he had heavy wrist gauntlets that matched his armor.

He stomped forwards, cracking his palm against his fist as he walked.

Without warning, Tenshinhan's aura exploded around him as he charged the unsuspecting giant, delivering a devastating kick that shattered Strawb's jaw and sent him skidding across the ground until he stopped just short of Cui's feet.

"W-what the hell was that? I could barely see that guy move…" said one of the weaker soldiers.

"My god, he's dead! That bastard killed him!" said an orange skinned alien who had knelt down beside Strawb.

"His power level's shot up to 2,000! Strawb never had a cha-"

"Silence! It's obvious that this weakling knows how to suppress his energy somehow. Stop acting like it matters," said Cui, who was slightly annoyed that someone had managed to fool his scouter, but was still otherwise unimpressed.

"I warned you. I'm not in a good mood. I suggest you leave, unless more of you want to end up like him. Any takers?" demanded Tenshinhan, flaring his aura.

"Sorry, boss, but I think you'll have to deal with him. I don't think any of can contend with this guy," said the orange skinned alien.

"Oh absolutely, he'd make short work of any of you fools if you were to fight one on one. However, if you were to all work together, I could be in for some serious entertainment," laughed Cui.

While some of the soldiers looked nervous, the rest looked terrified.

"Well… I guess it might be worth a shot," said a green-skinned alien, who appeared to be slightly braver than the rest.

He nodded at the other soldiers, and they all dashed forward at once.

Tenshinhan braced himself for the onslaught. He counted seven opponents altogether.

"This could be difficult," he said to Chiaotzu, who took the statement to mean that he should get out of harm's way.

The diminutive warrior nodded at his friend, before using his psychic powers to freeze the attacking soldiers in place. Their stunned faces said it all.

Cui was slightly disappointed with his subordinates for being unable to overcome such weak telekinetic bonds, but he decided not to interfere for the sake of curiosity.

Tenshinhan watched Chiaotzu hover away until he was satisfied that he wouldn't be in immediate danger, before signaling for the soldiers to be unfrozen.

They immediately resumed their charge, foolishly believing that they had overcome Chiaotzu's technique by force.

The three-eyed warrior assumed an almost flawless fighting stance, before individually avoiding each of the soldiers' initial blows simultaneously.

Cui watched as the wild melee ensued, finally happy that he was getting to see some action, even if it wasn't anything remarkable.

One by one, Tenshinhan connected with vicious strikes to each of his opponents, killing some and incapacitating the rest, until only the orange-skinned alien was left standing.

"I give up! Please don't kill me!" he groveled pathetically, much to both Tenshinhan and Cui's annoyance.

"I gave you plenty of chances to surrender, but you foolishly ignored me. Now you want my mercy? You're lucky I pity you," said the three-eyed warrior, before delivering a sharp elbow to the alien's throat, causing him to wheeze violently before collapsing unconscious.

Nothing but the wind could be heard for a few seconds, until a slow clap broke the silence.

"Not bad. If those soldiers you just beat up weren't such weaklings, I might actually be impressed," mocked Cui.

"I can feel your power is far greater than the others. Far greater than mine even, but you're a fool if you think I'm going to back down," announced Tenshinhan, his commanding tone once again apparent.

"You can 'feel' my power, you say? I'd ask you how that's possible, but I'd be lying if I said I cared. You're nothing to me, and you know you don't stand a chance, so why even bother resisting?" said Cui, an air of boredom to his voice.

"I may not be able to win this fight, but I'm going to make damn sure you never forget me. I promise you won't be leaving unscathed," declared the three-eyed warrior.

"Ha, your move," said Cui.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gohan looked down at his mother, her head rested in his arms, before turning his attention to the beautiful meadows outside the window of his home. His expression suddenly became serious. He placed his mother's head gently on the floor and stood up.

"If it means protecting the Earth and its people, and by extension my friends and family, then I'm willing to do whatever it takes," said Gohan, his determination reminding Vegeta of Kakarot's similarly foolish ideals.

"You've made the right decision," said Vegeta, his usual scowl relaxing into a convincingly warm smile.

At that moment, without a word, Gohan darted past the saiyan prince and out through the front doorway. Vegeta swiftly followed, first seeing the boy's concerned face, and then, following his line of sight, spotted the two figures flying through the air at top speed, rapidly approaching the house.

"That's Nappa and Raditz. The two other saiyans I told you about," explained Vegeta.

The two saiyans landed and rushed over to Vegeta and Gohan, looking as if they had something they desperately need to tell the saiyan prince.

"Before you two say what I know you're about to say, this is the son of Kakarot. He's agreed to help us in our fight against Freeza. As a half-saiyan, he has the potential to be a huge help to us" interjected Vegeta.

Raditz nodded, catching on immediately. Nappa, however, looked slightly confused.

"Alright, now, what did you want to tell me?" asked Vegeta.

"Things just went from bad to worse! Freeza's here!" bellowed Nappa.

"I _know_," said Vegeta, apparently annoyed at being reminded of the news.

"But… how?" asked Nappa, confused.

"The boy can sense energy with his mind. Apparently it's a common ability here, as Kakarot also possesses it. Anyway, I guess it goes without saying that those new scouters you're wearing are the reason that _you _already know of Freeza's arrival. I'm assuming that they're the ones you were meant to deliver to Freeza?"

"Yeah, these things are state of the art. Here." Nappa tossed a small cube to Vegeta.

"Press it with your thumb," said Raditz.

Vegeta did so, and it expanded into a sleek device identical to the ones that the other two saiyans were wearing.

"Hopefully we won't need these for much longer if the boy can teach us his ability," muttered Vegeta as he put the scouter on.

Gohan, who had said nothing up to that point, finally decided to chime in.

"So, I guess that you three are the ones who encountered my dad earlier. Why isn't he here?" asked the boy, more curious than suspicious.

Vegeta gave the other two Saiyans a warning glance so that they knew to keep their mouths shut.

"Uh…your father is preparing for the coming battle. He flew off somewhere immediately after we explained the situation to him," said Vegeta, hoping Gohan would buy it.

"Yeah, that sure does sound like him alright. I'm sure he's felt Freeza's power as well by now and knows what we're up against. He'll be there when it matters most. He always is," said Gohan, oblivious to Nappa's sheepish expression.

"Oh yeah, one more thing," said Raditz, holding up the golden orb in his hand.

"Is that… what I think it is?" asked Vegeta, and before Raditz could react, he snatched it from the taller saiyan's hand.

"Yes, so there are dragonballs on this planet after all," said Vegeta, his eyes lit up and a grin on his face as he examined the ball.

"You know about the dragonballs." It wasn't a question. Gohan suddenly felt a twinge of suspicion.

"As do you, apparently," replied Vegeta, considering how best to proceed.

"What do you want with them?"

"We figure they could provide us with a huge advantage over Freeza. As for the wish itself, we haven't decided yet, but I suppose we could use it to unlock your hidden potential," said Vegeta, not completely sure himself whether he was lying to the boy or not.

"Well, I guess so… but no matter what, we can't let that Freeza guy find out about them."

"You'll get no argument from us there, boy," said Nappa.

Vegeta glanced at Gohan affirmatively, before addressing the group.

"Good, now that that's sorted, we have to plan our next mo-"

At that moment, all three of the saiyans' scouters beeped simultaneously.

"What is it?!" asked Gohan frantically upon hearing the saiyans' collective snarl.

"It's Zarbon. We have about thirty seconds before he gets here. Nappa, you stay with me. Raditz, you won't be of much use in this fight. Take the boy and get out of here. See if you can find any more dragonballs," Vegeta ordered.

Raditz nodded, slightly hurt but unwilling to complain. He beckoned to Gohan, but the boy didn't look very compliant.

"I'm not leaving my mother here," he said firmly, much to Vegeta's annoyance.

"Don't worry. We'll lure the battle away from here. Just go, right now!" Vegeta demanded, and Gohan reluctantly nodded.

The boy took one more nervous look at his house before following Raditz and blasting off after long-haired saiyan.

Vegeta watched the two fly away before turning back to Nappa, who nodded at him.

A few seconds passed before Zarbon came into view.

"Greetings, monkeys. I hope I'm not intruding," said the effeminate blue-skinned alien before touching down in front of the two saiyans.


End file.
